Many new audiobook publishers are only offering a royalty-share model of payment. In this model, the narrator is not paid anything up front and is instead paid a percentage of royalties based on the sales of the audiobook.

 
Some people would get irate at the very idea of doing any work without guaranteed payment. They would rant and rave that taking a royalty-share deal makes one a low-baller, someone who is selfishly going to destroy the whole voiceover industry by not charging the appropriate rate.

I’ve seen these kinds of arguments in on-line voiceover forums so many times, and I’m not looking to start one here! It’s my intention to present reasons on both sides of the table to help you make an informed decision.

Many voice talent are understandably reluctant to undertake this kind of work due to the tremendous amount of time required to produce a quality audiobook.

I can think of 4 other big reasons not to accept a royalty-share agreement:

1) The material doesn’t interest me.

I am very selective about the scripts I perform, especially when it comes to an audiobook. Since you aren’t guaranteed to make any money, the book can truly be considered a labor of love. Still, I want my audiobooks to emphasize the LOVE part and not the LABOR!

Although I didn’t know it when I accepted the projects, the first 2 audiobooks I performed were thinly veiled religious sermons. They also contained about 80% dialogue with a lot of “walk-on” characters whose sole purpose was to advance the plot. I truly struggled in my motivation to finish the books.

After those experiences, I know to use the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon to see how the book flows. If the book looks unappealing, it’s not worth it to me to spend my time on it, regardless of whether I’m paid per finished hour or on a royalty-share basis.

2) The material is not suited for audio.

Point number 3 in this article will give you an idea of the kinds of books that wouldn’t make good audiobooks.

3) The audio publisher has limited distribution methods.

I have accepted royalty-share agreements on ACX.com because Audible.com is the undisputed leader of audiobook distribution. I know my audiobooks will be distributed on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. I also can have faith in Audible’s accounting and payment processes.

I have passed on royalty-share agreements offered by new publishers with no track record.

4) You have responsibility for all of the roles: narrator, audio engineer, producer, director, pronunciation researcher, quality control listener, and marketer. If you can’t outsource some of the functions, do you have the time and are you comfortable in performing all of them? 

On the other hand, I can also think of 5 good reasons to accept a royalty-share narration:

1) You can create something of permanence that will be enjoyed for years to come. 

Not only are the listeners able to enjoy your audiobook, but you may find that you enjoy a recurring, passive income stream from its sales.

2) It’s a great way to improve your workflow and become a specialist.

You also can explore new genres to see how well you like the material.

3) Productivity equals success. 

According to Lee Tobin McClain in her article The Key to Success: Write More!: Artistic and scientific achievers from Picasso to Da Vinci didn’t succeed more, percentage-wise, than other now-unknown creators of their eras; they simply produced more, and thus had more successes. 

She goes on to offer 8 ways to increase your productivity. While her tips are aimed at writers, voice talent can extrapolate from them and apply the ideas to our businesses.

For instance, you can build an expectant audience (i.e., a fan base) with a royalty-share book. I actually did this with a book I performed for LibriVox. I’ve seen reviews of the book and even received fan mail!

4) What you put out in the world comes back to you.

I gave that LibriVox audiobook to the world after reading the advice of Eckhart Tolle. I’ve decided that I would rather get a commercial credit on a royalty-share audiobook than produce another book for the public domain. I have seen my LibriVox audiobook for sale on eBay, but that point doesn’t trouble me.

The commercial credits are important so that I can become an Audible Approved Producer and meet membership requirements for The Recording Academy. Nobody cares how or when I was paid for my commercial credits.

5) You’re planting seeds for a future harvest. You never know where the decision will lead.

In his wonderful autobiography Up Till Now, William Shatner wasn’t talking about audiobooks when he wrote these compelling words, yet his wisdom about taking risks certainly applies to this situation:

In 1968 Decca Records asked me if I was interested in doing an album. I hesitated, I wasn’t a singer — but then it was pointed out to me that the first note in the musical scale is do… 

What I decided to was find a selection of beautiful writing and use that as a lead-in to a song that complemented it…Apparently it was a bit obtuse…for most people…. 

I’d taken a creative risk. I’d tried to do something unique, something very different. And I’d learned very early in my acting career that you can’t improve without taking risks… 

Decades later, my debut album “The Transformed Man” would lead directly to one of the most successful commercial ventures of my career — and another album!… 

It turned out that the copywriter on the [Priceline] account, Ernest Lupinacci, was a big fan of my 1968 album “The Transformed Man”. 

I am absolutely fascinated as I look over my shoulder at my past at how the simplest decisions I’ve made have had the most complex reactions. A career is a series of connected events. So when I turned down an offer, I wasn’t simply rejecting a job and paycheck, I was completely eliminating the possibility that it might lead to something else. When you turn down an opportunity to work, you’re also turning down an experience, maybe even an adventure, and a universe of possibilities.

Two footnotes on Shatner’s story:

• I recommend that you listen to his audiobook rather than read the book. Hearing him tell his story in his often-imitated but imcomparable style is a true pleasure!
• That fabulous gig as Priceline’s spokesperson is about to end, but it lasted for 14 YEARS! Think how much money he made just from that one enterprise! And he never would have had it if he hadn’t taken a risk.

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t expect payment up-front for an audiobook. I am simply encouraging you to explore the possibility of narrating a book on a royalty-share agreement. Only you can decide how best to build your business. You may find that doing one or more royalty-share audiobooks is a better building block than you had imagined!

Have you done any audiobooks on royalty-share agreements? I’d love to get your comments on the blog!

Photo:  iStockPhoto/LockieCurrie
 

Last updated 2/7/21

 

My email inbox continues to provide fodder for blog articles. Last week, someone sent me this question:

I’ve been asked to record a 200 page audiobook. I’m not in a union or guild. I do have some voiceover experience. What do you recommend I charge?

Original Answer

While the question you asked seems simple, the answer requires more explanation, as found in this blog post and the one from Paul Strikwerda linked within it.

As basic info, you need to know the WORD count, not the page count, of the book you would narrate. You can figure out the finished run-time based on the word count. For instance, Audible uses an average rate of speed of 155 words a minute, or 9300 words per finished hour.

Paul’s article shows you a formula to calculate finished time. My article shows you how to calculate the real time required for editing to produce the book. As Paul points out in his comment to my article, you also need to add time for preliminary research.

You’ll have to consider all of these factors about the time commitment along with your experience, relationship with the client, training, and studio equipment to determine a rate that is fair compensation.

Small publishers only pay $50-100 per finished hour. I would only perform an audiobook at that very low rate if I wanted to build commercial credits.

I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your continued success!

New Answer (WARNING: MATH IS INVOLVED!)

Apparently, I overwhelmed this person with good information that would require her to actually do some research because she re-posted her question on a voiceover forum within an hour of receiving my reply.

Here’s the simple mathematical formula for solving this problem:

1.  Divide the word count of the book by your rate of speech per hour to get the estimated number of finished hours. If you don’t know your rate of speech, Audible uses 9300 words per hour, or 155 words per minute (WPM), in its calculation for books posted on ACX. Your actual rate of speech and finished time may vary significantly from the estimate due to the complexity of the text and your acting choices.

Some narrators have reported that using 9000 words per hour (or 150 wpm) is a better average rate for more people. If you’ve done some projects where you were given a word count, divide the word count by your finished time to learn your average words-per-minute rate of speech.

If you don’t have the word count available, you can estimate the finished time by following these steps:

Let’s say you a have a 300-page book. To estimate finished time, start a stopwatch as you read 3-5 representative pages aloud as if narrating. Keep going when you have errors, and stop your timer when you’re done.

Divide the time you obtained doing the sample read by the number of pages in the sample to get the average time to read each page. For instance, if it takes you 10 minutes to read 5 pages, your average time per page would be 2 minutes per page. (10 / 5 = 2)

Multiply the total pages in the book by your average reading time per page from your sample read to see the total estimated minutes. (300 * 2 = 600 minutes)

Divide the total number of minutes in the previous step by 60 to get the finished hours. (600 / 60 = 10 finished hours)

Real life examples usually aren’t so tidy with whole numbers. You find it helpful to use a decimal-to-time calculator with your finished hours figure to see the minutes and seconds.

2.  Multiply the number of finished hours by 6. This number is a very conservative estimate of the number of real-time hours you and your team will spend in recording, editing, and transmitting your book.  For instance, a 10-hour book may require at least 20 and, if you are doing your own editing (which I don’t recommend — instead, outsource it), 60 or more hours of your life from the time you record the first word until the last byte is uploaded or mailed to the client.

The general breakdown of hours for experienced narrators is:

Recording: 2 hours for 1 finished hour

Editing: 3 hours for 1 finished hour

Proofing: 1.2 hours for proofing

Note that preparing to read (pre-reading the book, looking up pronunciations, etc.) is NOT included in this calculation, so you will need to add time for that process.

3.  Multiply the real-time hours by the hourly rate of pay you need to survive. Chances are very good that you will come up with a pay rate for this audiobook that is $1000s MORE than your client wishes to pay. You have to decide how to negotiate a rate acceptable to both of you.

Even with this formula in hand, you still will want to research current audiobook rates. Be aware that the SAG/AFTRA union minimum on ACX is $250 per finished hour. which is an all-inclusive rate. If you are producing the retail-ready project, you need to factor in costs for an editor and proofer as you will pay those out of your PFH rate. (Each publisher has negotiated contracts with SAG/AFTRA, and only the ACX rate is publicly available. The narration rate with other publishers varies.) If you want tips for negotiating a higher price, check out my article Cruising for a competitive advantage

Once you know the amount of time you’ll invest in the project and the amount of money you need to get for your time, you’ll know whether to accept an audiobook project.

For instance, I would voice a royalty-share book only if I’m willing to bet that based on from the book’s ratings and reviews that I would earn back my fee over time. Otherwise, I might do a RS book if I were passionate about the topic and had the time available for the project. I’m much more interested in a hybrid arrangement of a PFH payment up-front and a RS contract. On ACX, this type of arrangement is called a Royalty Share Plus contract.

It’s always good to be working and gaining credits if your survival needs are being met.

If you have more thoughts on this topic or questions on other topics related to voiceover, marketing, or just living your best life,, I’d love to get your comments on the blog!

Photo:  iStockPhoto.com/STEVECOLEcc